Have you had a Portuguese clarete yet?
Clarete in portuguese or claret in the Queen’s English. Meaning “clear”.
When I speak to clients and friends about this specific style of wine, I know that they will be familiar with the name. A claret is an ancient Bordeaux term used explicitly in the 13th and 14th centuries to describe wine from the Bordelais region. While it’s commonly used as a semi-generic term for red Bordeaux wine, its use is regulated to protect the term’s association with the region and its specific style.
In Portugal, the word clarete is used, not because the wines resemble the red wines of Bordeaux today, but due to their resemblance to the wines made centuries ago. The Bordeaux wines of today have benefited from modern winemaking technologies and growing temperatures throughout the years so that the wines are no longer lightly fruity, thin and translucent. The new wines are bold, opaque and wonderfully gastronomic with deeper and darker hues. The name claret, however, has stuck to the wines of Bordeaux for better or for worse. Nowadays, the term has also been adopted and carried out by new winemaking generations in other countries to appease fans like me of delicious and, yes, lip-smacking, lighter, medium-bodied reds.
Portuguese clarete
Believe it or not, in Portugal, clarete is a traditional style of wine that’s been made for generations. Currently, it’s also a style that is considered by many to be “hip” because it’s light(er), with less tannins, usually has 12% abv or less, is considered to have been through less manipulation and extraction, and is served lightly chilled.
Clarete now means ‘a light and fruity red’, but technically speaking, clarete means that the grapes sit for less time on their skins or there is less maceration time of the juice with the must and the wine is generally made with lighter colored or finer-skinned grapes. Hence, the light and fruity designation.
Some producers here in Portugal will use some white grapes in the blend because it’s made from a field blend or possibly because they wish to add them to the blend for colour, taste or complexity. For the most part, clarete is made with only red grapes. One winemaker from the Dão once told me that this style, as well as palhete, was made “from the urgency or the desire to drink the wine as soon as it was ready”. I think he was right. For the people long ago and today, as the wine is served young, it is absolutely perfect straight out of the bottle, no time, swirling or decanting needed. It’s possible to find this style of wine in just about every wine region in Portugal, from north to south, from translucent purple to glittering ruby, to a darker and more complex mouthwatering rosé colour.
Last October, my blind tasting group here in Lagos decided we should bring clarete wines from anywhere in Portugal to one of our meetings and my friend Marianna brought this specific bottle, which, after we were done, I insisted I take home!
Quinta Seara d’Ordens Mater Clarete 2021 12%abv
MATER(from the Latin Sub. Fem): Combining harmony, delicacy and consistency, a beautiful line of wines that three brothers created to pay tribute to their mother, Rosa.
Quinta Seara d’Ordens is a family business with an enduring history located in the Douro Valley, 9 km from Peso da Régua. It has been in operation for over 200 years.
Fresh, deep and ripe red strawberry, ripe mulberry and sweet purple plum, light and 100% pure fun in a glass.
Clarete, and this one is no exception, should be drunk at a cooler temperature, between 12º and 14º C. An excellent pairing with grilled fish dishes, vegetarian dishes, white meat and pasta dishes.
Candace Olsen is a sommelier, fine wine consultant, wine educator and wine writer.
More sensational clarete wines to try, all of which are possible to find online, are:
Herdade do Cebolal, Castelão Clarete, Setúbal 2019
Morgado do Quintão, Clarete Negra Mole, Algarve 2023
João Tavares da Pina, Rufia Clarete, Dão 2022
Quinta dos Termos, Reserva Clarete, Beira Interior 2022
Niepoort, Charme Clarete, Douro 2023
Cabeças do Reguengo, Respiro Clarete, Alentejo 2022
